Tsunami tiger forge? Anyone?

by BC
(Ohio)

So im seeing this new forge or maybe they have been around called Tsunami Tiger. Anyone really know anything about them? Their swords look okay. A lot of fancy fittings and long stories talking about their swords. Then you see the price at 7,777!!!? Some of their cheapest is like still over 2k! They say they use tamahagne and meteorites and forging their swords on an eclipse and so on. I guess a good story can sell a sword for a ton of money but arent they still tempered metal? Will it have mystical powers that can chop a forest down without dulling? They sell on ebay and the like and are out of china so im sceptical that they are any better than a ryanswords or other warehouse custom makers. They also do the color iodizing on the blades which to me looks really tacky and does that in anyway weaken or make the blade a worse temper? Since you, sir paul, have the most interaction with forges in china or more closely laun quan i was wondering if you knew amything about them. Thx.

Comments for Tsunami tiger forge? Anyone?

I was not aware of this seller, but I am actually shocked at the level of BS and the price they are charging..

Fancy fittings, check.

Long stories, check and check.

Wow - I have never heard so much absolute BS in one place.. Forged during an eclipse? Considering than an eclipse is 7 mins long, that may not be a good thing - but seems about right..

Got to love them charging for shipping on $2K sword and "no returns" policy. Seriously, this is shocking - and what is worse they have nearly 3 times more Facebook fans than SBG..!

Yes, the fittings are unique - but that is where all the money has gone and it still does not justify a $2K price tag on it.. If you want bells and whistles this is the crap (literally, a magic bell is included to "purify the box when you take the sword out" - gah)..

On another sword they mention the sword has a MILLION layers! Wow - a million..! So it was folded 20 times (actually 1,048,576 folds) - which is actually really BAD because a folded blade should be folded between 8-14 times max - so it is no wonder they say it should be used for light to medium cutting (but elsewhere suggest they will be testing their "legendary swords to their limits on Youtube - soon"..)

Wow, the only thing in the millions about these swords is the money these guys are trying to scam people with little knowledge out of..

Yes, there are some Master Smiths in China who DO make swords from meteorites and sell them for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. But they don't make limited editions of 77pcs - nor do they sell on ebay.. (indeed, they claim to be making 77pcs from 10lbs of meterorite - that is 0.12lb per sword - which is real hey presto magic)..

These are all style and no substance - $100 blades with $500 of accessories, but clearly there is a sucker born every minute..

Be careful out there - eBay is crazy place to buy swords, that is for sure..

Figured as muchby: Anonymous

Yep. I figured as much. Just wanted this to be put there and let everyone know. Watch out for the scammers! I know one person that already bought into it. Or maybe they gave him the sword to pimp seeing as he has so many youtube followers. So unless there is great history behind it . ie. Made by Musashi himself, stear well clear! Thx paul. I knew something was afoot.

Update on tsunami tigerby: Anonymous

I am currently speaking to someone from the company about their swords and prices. They admit to their high prices but also talk about that they negotiate the price if the buyer thinks it too high. An odd business practice. They have also told me that theybwill do some heavy cutting tests and show them on youtube but we will see how long that will be. The tests should be a 6 width rolled tatami mat and a concrete cut as well as the bend test. So we will see. If it passes i will be the first to say how incredible they are and that they are worth the price. WE WILL SEE!!!

Not actually a good thing..by: Paul

That is not a good practice at all - it basically means they rip honest people off and give preferencial treatment to people who complain.

Furthermore, if the swords are laminated, differentially hardened and folded 30,000-1,000,000 times as they claim, they SHOULD fail a flex test - if they don't, they are monotempered with fake hamon. Same with the concerete test.

They recommend themselves that the swords only be used "for light to medium cutting" - and this is fine. At the end of the day, the swords are unique designs, but way overpriced and there are more holes in the advertising BS that the story is like swiss cheese..

I got so upset that I posted a thread on the Sword Forum about this here

If they were selling unique designs at a fair price, I would have no issue with this. If they want to tell stories about mythical swords and name their swords after them - that is cool too. But they are pretending they are much more than what they are and taking advantage of the average persons ignorance of the Katana - which is basically the opposite of everything SBG stands for, and that - not cool and just plain dishonest..

If they cleaned up their act, made a fair price for all, and did away with the silly marketing and just let the designs stand on their own merits, its all good and the designs are definitely interesting to look at. But right now, they are a clear example of why we need more transparancy in the industry..

yepby: Anonymous

right again, paul. they speak of lamination and natural hamon but if one looks at the photos they use one can tell that the hamon is indeed fake and NO LAMINATION LINES!!! huge red flag. they also claim to be using the soshu kitei method but under another name but if so, where are the lamination lines!their blades are just folded, thats it! the person i spoke to talked about how innovative they are and the only ones to use coloring on their blades that can cut tatami blah blah blah. the more he talked the less i wanted to listen. i laid into the guy and got banned from the facebook page! LOL! im glad about the thread and wanted that exact thing to happen. people needed to be aware of this fraudulent company. im not even sure that it is an actual forge and not just a really clever warehouse spare parts user. read the descriptions of their swords, not the bs story, and im not sure that just because they used green ito for the first time on the tsuka that or there fancy boxes are a reason to charge 7k. beware the BS people!

one last thingby: bc

one last thing i would like to mention about this horrid company. the person i spoke to and from his comments i have devised that it was indeed the owner, but he said that he purpose in the company he created was "it is not so important to be powerful, but much more important to FEEL powerful. our blades are not magical, but they FEEL magical and allow our clients to FEEL powerful." the whole conversation was like this. i have it in its entirity if you ever want to read it. quite entertaining. satori tansu is their main guy and makes the unique katana boxes with the "medicinal quality tuning fork that energetically cleans the box every time you open and close it." BUUUULLLLLLSSSHHHHHHHHIIIIII....!

Satori Tansu?by: Paul

Wow, just wow..

So basically, you pay extra for "feelings".. Where does this rabbit hole end..?

They are definitely not a forge in their own right, they just order from one in China to their specs. And Satori Tansu is not a real name, Satori is a state of englighnment or comprehension in Japanese Zen Buddhism and Tansu means "a chest of drawers" or a "cabinet" so their rep is called "Englightened Cabinet"..